Catching My Heart
by Wonderland Beauty
Summary: Before Frank Abagnale's scams start to become serious, he meets beautiful Claire. As his scamming continues, Claire appears more and more into his life, until she becomes his permanent girlfriend. Will everything work out for them? Rated M for future


**"Catch Me If You Can" is definitely one of my favorite films! I actually started a story that was loosely based off of it about two years ago, but I don't remember what it's called, so I can't exactly find it on my computer! Well, this fanfic is based off of "Catch Me If You Can" and somewhat like the book I wrote two years ago! I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

Claire stood on the side of the curb, waiting for a taxi to arrive. Claire just got back home from Illinois, visiting her sick aunt that lived there. Sixteen years old and practically living on her own, Claire had the world at her feet. Her mother was superbly rich, but when she decided to marry Claire's father, her parents refused to give their daughter anything. Claire's mother lost her fortune and name, but she didn't lose her love for Claire's father. But, as Claire and her little sister, Sam, began to grow up, their parents lost faith in almost everything except family. They lost their jobs and their large home, and with little help from Claire's grandparents, everyone helped out around their small little apartment.

Sam continued to learn in school, since she was only twelve years old, but she did little side jobs around the town to gain some extra money. Mother and Father usually didn't except it, giving most of it back to Sam to spend on herself. Claire quit school, taking the job as a waitress and some jobs in the local bookstore. Claire was tutored in school by one of her closest friends, Mike. Mike would come to their house everyday after school and teach Claire whatever his teachers taught him and give her copies of his homework so she could practice. Claire didn't know how she would go to college like she wished, but somehow she would make. She could feel it.

Now today, Claire was behind on her schoolwork and job by two weeks. Her life became so stressful that she always felt like running away, but she couldn't, she knew it was leave everyone devastated. This was a part of life, so she was learning it, just earlier than most of her friends.

As Claire waited for another cab to come, the clouds started to dim into a dark gray, showing that New York was about to receive rain. Claire was considering walking away and forgetting about trying to get a cab, but she shook her head. She needed to get home and talk to her boss. How else would she get there? No matter what she though, Claire never expected that this little choice would bring her on the biggest thrill of her life.

Frank Abagnale Jr. whistled happily as he traveled down the street, proud of his new scam on becoming a co-pilot for PANAM airways. Frank took the name Frank Taylor to conceive his identity and he was proud of it. With amazing abilities, he was only seventeen and he was doing all of this. The only other person that knew this was his father, but he was discreet about a lot of details. As of now, Frank was happy. He never truly regretted running away from his home when he discovered his parents were getting divorced. He knew this was for the best and he was enjoying it.

One problem came along the way: rain started to fall. It was pouring, so Frank pulled out an umbrella that he bought just in case of all of this. He carried his briefcase with one hand and held the umbrella up with the other.

As he continued down the sidewalk, he closed up on the airport, three hours earlier. He had nothing else to do, so he headed down there. He made a good choice since it begun to rain and now he could stay dry most of the time. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure standing still in the rain as cars dispersed. Frank stopped abruptly, someone slamming behind him. Frank never once looked at the old woman that cursed at him, his eyes lay on the young girl that was standing in the rain, staring at the floor as she held the suitcase, letting the rain pour down over her. Her back was toward him, but he could see that she had thick wavy dark brown hair and she was tall for her age. Somehow, he could also recognize that she was his age since she was dressed in a skirt with stockings rising to her knees, a trench coat reaching almost to the bottom of her skirt. Frank felt something wrenching his heart, a feeling that was drawing him closer to this mysterious girl.

The girl must have felt it too because she turned around, staring at the handsome young pilot that was keeping his eyes fully on her. Frank realized that she had bright green eyes that sparkled from the reflection of raindrops. Her face was thin with light cheekbones and a perfect little nose, complimenting her full lips. Frank's eyes were on her, never once stealing away from her beauty. The girl took in Frank's dark blonde hair that fell in face and sky blue eyes that smiled proudly. Frank was tall, but only taller than her by a few inches. He was lean but looked full of strength beneath the clothes that were hiding them.

Frank noticed that the girl started shivering, so instantly, he flew to her side. "Are you okay, Miss?"

"Yeah, fine," the girl answered, her face not seeming so sure.

"Let me take you inside, I'll buy you some coffee to warm you up," Frank ushered, hoping to get her out of this cold.

She took one last glance at the parking lot, knowing no other cabs were going to come. She gave up and allowed him to pull her inside. Pulling her close to him, so she was covered by rain, made each of their hearts pound, but neither of them noticed. Frank's hands were strong on her arms and it made her flutter. Frank slowly moved his hand down her arm so she could move it freely, and left it on her waist. Both of them had a strong feeling tug at their heart, but each one ignored it.

Frank threw his umbrella onto the floor when they got inside, knowing he wasn't going to be back in New York for a while, rushing her to the café that lay inside the airport. Frank bought them coffee and sat next to her at the table. He held out his hand for her after she took her coffee.

"Frank Taylor," he introduced.

Her smile was small and sweet, but Frank couldn't help but grin. "Claire Churchill."

Frank gave his captivating grin, a grin that could get him anything he wanted. "Claire is a pretty name."

"Thanks," Claire said, sipping her coffee, trying not to stare at Frank's beautiful face and handsome uniform. "My father chose my name."

"Did your mother have any choice?" Frank laughed, enjoying the little story.

Even Claire gave a little chuckle. "Yeah, she got to choose my middle name because that's the name she wanted to originally name me, but dad said no."

"What's your middle name?"

"Rosalind."

Frank smiled, his white teeth sparkling. "Pretty as well."

Claire gave a small smile. "So, I see you are a pilot?"

"Co-pilot," Frank corrected, eating a cookie. "What do you do for a living?"

Claire laughed louder than she expected. "What don't I do? I am a waitress and my side job is working at a town bookstore. I have absolutely no time for school, so I dropped out and my friend, Mike, comes to my house after school to tutor me in whatever he learns about in school. I help pay the bills. I help buy groceries though my boss allows me to eat some of the leftover food from the kitchens so it will pay less to buy dinner for my family. I typically work ninety-two hours a week just to help keep the house over our heads and food on our table. My mother works in a jewelry store that doesn't get many customers and my father is still looking for a job. My little sister is only twelve, so of course she has to stay in school. I'm the only one that is getting good work and pay in my family. I never had a choice, my parents needed so much help that they forced me to drop out of school and work."

Frank stared at her, dumbfounded. His family was in the same situation, but his parents got a divorce and he left. How could someone possibly force their kid to stop learning and work a full-time job? Frank couldn't understand it. He was curious how old she really was while she did all of this.

"How old are you, anyway?"

"Sixteen. My birthday isn't for another five months."

_Sixteen?_ Frank was surprised. _I'm a year older than she is? She looks older than me at least. _

"How old are you?" Claire asked, sipping more of her coffee.

Frank opened his mouth, ready to say he was seventeen. Then, he stopped himself. He almost forgot that he changed his birth year ten years older than he really was.

"A little older than you, darling," Frank chuckled, gazing up at her from the top of his eyes.

"Try me," Claire answered, coyly.

"Ten years older than you at least," Frank muttered, wishing he could really tell her how old he was. He'd gladly ask her out on a date.

"Ha ha! You think that's too old? My father's parents are twenty years apart!" Claire laughed, loudly.

"Seriously?" Frank found that actually gross, but it may have been good for the guy if she was a younger, hot girl.

"Yeah. Apparently, his sperm is really good," Claire grinned, wickedly.

Frank almost choked up his drink. _Did she really just say that?_ "Wow, you have a dirty little mouth for a sixteen year old."

"When your best friend is a guy and you are a waitress for adults, you hear many things."

Frank gazed at her. She was extraordinary. Claire was different than most girls he met. She was honest and she never held anything back. She didn't seem scared of anything, except reality. Frank felt like Claire was much older and wiser than any kid he knew.

"You said you have a little sister?" Frank asked, curious to learn more about her.

"Yeah, Sam. Sam's a funny little sister, but she is annoying as hell. Most of the time I feel like punching her in the face," Claire said, speaking her mind.

Silence followed until Frank roared. Claire glanced at him, puzzled. Frank was cracking up so hard that he could barely breath. Claire placed a hand on his shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" Her voice cracked and her eyes were worried. She thought he was choking.

"I'm fine," Frank spoke between breaths. "I just have never heard a girl say something like that."

Claire beamed at him. "I'm not every other girl."

_Clearly_, Frank thought. _You are so much better._

With a sudden urge, Frank glanced at the clock and realized it was almost his flight. He abruptly stood up, making Claire jump in surprise.

"What's wrong?"

"My flight is leaving in ten minutes!" Frank exclaimed, taking Claire's hand and leading her down the airport.

"Um…why are you taking me along? I just got off the planes," Claire wondered aloud.

"I guess I want to say good bye to you before I leave."

Claire's heart skipped a beat. _He wants me to be the last person he says good bye to?_

Frank led them to the ticket pick-up, where the clerk told him that he was late and he had to hurry. Frank took her hand again as they ran to his terminal. When they arrived, the lady concluded his ticket and Frank turned to Claire. Claire gently smiled up at him, thinking of what to say. Instead of speaking, she stood up on the tip of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. Frank touched his cheek and gawked at her.

"What was that for?"

"For being my knight in glimmering armor," Claire whispered in his ear.

"Don't you mean shining?" Frank questioned, stunned.

Claire shook her head. "Nope. Glimmering."

Frank smiled. "Well, I'll be back in New York sometime soon."

"Hopefully I can see you again," Claire spoke as Frank began to walk down the terminal. "Look me up in the phone book!"

As Frank walked down the terminal toward the entrance of the plane, his mind was running. This was the first time he found a girl that was different, amazing. He has been going through this check fraud thing for almost a year and now he had a chance to escape and try it with someone special. Frank's pace began to slow as his thoughts clung onto Claire. Then, he stopped.

_Why am I running away? I have a shot at finding someone who could possibly make this all stop! Where am I going? _Frank spun around, dropping all of his belongings, and started running back to the entrance of the terminal. He wasn't giving this up now! He knew he just couldn't!

But when he got to the entrance, the lady just finished closing the doors, which meant the plane was about to leave. Full of loss and uncertainty, Frank picked up his things and entered the plane. He found his place in the front of the plane, waiting for an unexpected ride that scared him almost half to death, but he got use to it.

Not knowing what to do because he was depressed, he found the stewardess that seemed flirtatious to him. So, he decided to win her over to try and get Claire off his mind.

"Did you drop this?" Frank asked her, holding up a gold necklace that he bought previously.

She smiled in awe as he put it around her neck.

That night, after they got off the plane, they had a night full of 'fun' in the hotel room. Yes, Frank slept with this random stewardess, but Claire never once left his mind.

**Tell me what you think! Please, please, please review! I love them with all my heart! :)**


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